


Flowers

by PocketOfWeird



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 06:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23347276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PocketOfWeird/pseuds/PocketOfWeird
Summary: It’s series of one shots based off of the different meanings of flowers.
Relationships: Alice & Paul Matthews, Bill & Charlotte (The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals), Henry Hidgens & Emma Perkins, Lex Foster & Henry Hidgens, Lex Foster/Ethan Green, Paul Matthews & Melissa, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins, Ted & Bill (The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	1. Foxglove

Foxglove: Insincerity

—

“You could at least try to sound sincere.” 

Emma sighed, halting mid-song to listen to her boyfriend, the imaginary instruments she was hearing slowly fading out. 

He frowned, “Em, you’re acting like this is a chore to you. You’re heart just doesn’t seem to be in it.” 

“Paul, not all of us can be The Hive’s poster boy! You know I love you, but sometimes all of this is just-“ she paused to search for the right word, “exhausting.” 

“Emma, I’m sorry to break it to you, but you don’t really have a choice.” 

She sighed. “Do you remember when I told you about my sister, and how she was the ‘perfect one’, so naturally I was the opposite? It’s like that with you and me, one of us has to be the bad one, and it certainly isn’t you.” 

Paul grabbed Emma’s hand, “it doesn’t have to be like for you anymore, we’re all connected now, there is no good or bad, just us. If you suffer, so do the rest of us.” 

She squeezed his hand, “look, I do the singing and dancing when it’s all of us, I participate. I just can’t always preform a huge soliloquy whenever I burn my toast-” He started to say something but she cut him off. “I know I’m over exaggerating, but you get what I’m trying to say, right?” 

Paul nodded, and kissed a blue scar on her cheek- one of the many injuries she sustained from the helicopter crash- and in turn she kissed a patch on his palm that was burned from the explosion. This was their way of saying I love you, a way for them to remind each other that after all they’ve been through, they’re still here.

“Do you want to go put on The Great British Bake Off while I make some popcorn?” Paul asked gently. 

Emma nodded, a small smile creeping onto her face, “Yeah, I’d like that.” 

And when Paul started singing a love song, it’s possible that Emma hummed along.


	2. Anemone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul is sick, everyone tells him to cut the bull shit and go home

Paul groaned as the shrill sound of his alarm clock reached his ears. He had already pushed snooze once, and if he stayed in bed any longer he would be late to work. 

He slowly sat up, his head was throbbing and his eyes protested against the light coming in from the windows. He really should stay home, but Mr. Davidson was expecting him to be at work today, and he still needed to work on his reports. 

When Paul stood up, the world started spinning slightly, so he made his way into his bathroom and then swallowed some Dramamine. A nice hot shower will help, Paul told himself as he waited for the water to heat up. A shower and some coffee then I’ll be good to go. 

A nice shower was not the cure to whatever Paul had, but he already made up his mind, he was going into work. 

Paul checked his watch, there wasn’t any time to stop by Beanies, the office coffee would have to do. 

By the time Paul finished his 6 minute walk from his apartment to the office all he really wanted was a glass of water and an Advil. 

He pushed open the glass doors and stepped inside the lobby, showing his badge to the security guard, then he waited for the elevator. 

If Paul was being honest, he didn’t like the elevator music, it was a weird mix of jazz and hip hop, Mr. Davidson wanted it to be appealing to everyone, but it really just made the whole experience worse, when you’re crammed into a metal box with too many people it just makes everything uncomfortable, really they should really just pick one- 

“Hey Paul? You’ve been staring at your coffee for a while.” 

Paul looked up, “Huh? Oh, sorry Bill, I’m just tired, that’s all.” He took a sip of his coffee and grimaced, Beanies may have shitty coffee, but office coffee is down right disgusting. 

Ted approached the two of them, holding an open yogurt container very clearly labeled ‘Melissa’. “Let me guess, late night? Did you and Erica-“

“Shut up Ted! Also her name is Emma.” 

“Oh be quiet Ted, we all know you probably went home with some girl who’s poor husband was waiting for her at home,” Melisa piped up from across the room. “Is that my yogurt?” 

“Oh, don’t worry, her husband wasn’t home.” 

“Moving on! Paul, Alice is in her school’s production of Into The Woods, she’s playing the bakers wife and it would really mean a lot to her if you could come to support her.” Bill pulled out his phone, “it opens Friday, but I’m going Saturday to avoid her mother, do you think you could make it?” 

Paul sighed, he was too tired to argue, “I’ll think about it.” 

“Are you okay, Paul?” Melissa asked. “You don’t look so good.” 

“Charlotte called in sick, there might be something going around the office,” Bill said. 

“Guys, I’m fine,” Paul insisted. “Really, I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.” That was because he felt like shit last night, but they didn’t need to know that. 

As the day went on, it became more and more clear that Paul was not fine, but if anyone tried to bring it up to him he would just change the subject or ignore them and try to get his work done. It was when Paul almost fell asleep at his desk that Bill drew the line. 

“Paul, go home! You can work on your reports there after you’ve taken some medicine and gotten some sleep, but you really shouldn’t be here.” 

“Bill’s right, we were considering putting some Nightquil in your coffee and leaving you in the janitors closet until it was time to go home,” Melissa told him. 

“I know how to tie a really good knot,” Ted said. “You wouldn’t be able to get out.” 

“Ted that’s too much information, but we appreciate the sentiment. Mr. Davidson will understand, and you won’t be able to get your work done tomorrow if you don’t take care of yourself today,” Melissa pointed out. 

Paul began to protest, but his friends weren’t going to put up with his bs anymore. 

“I also already told Mr. Davidson that you were going home,” Bill said sheepishly. 

“Fine, I’ll go, but only because I won’t be able to get any work done here.” 

They smiled, knowing that they had won... until Paul coughed on Bill as he was walking out.


	3. Lady’s Thimble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry talks to Lex about loss because he’s going to be living with her until World War III or a demon doll kills them all and it would suck if she takes his favorite spot to drink and cry.

_Lady’s Thimble: Grief_

* * *

Its been about a week since Henry gained some new roommate’s, here’s what he knows about them. 

Paul

  * He’s Emma’s partner 
  * He’s a good guy and volunteers to clear the dishes after dinner 
  * Drinks his coffee black 
  * Head over heels for Emma 



Tom

  * Served in Iraq 
  * Emma’s brother in law 
  * Used to teach at the high school



Tim

  * Tom’s son and Emma’s nephew
  * Pretty quiet
  * No taste in music, doesn’t appreciate classical theatre 
  * A little wary of Becky 



Becky 

  * Tom’s girlfriend 
  * Was a nurse 
  * Possibly was in a bad relationship before this one 
  * Really wants to connect with Tim 



Then there’s Lex and Hannah, the one she probably knows the least about. Clearly something big happened to them in that mall, something different then just being controlled by a demonic doll– or whatever Becky said. They’re good kids according to Tom, but he hasn’t had much of a chance to speak with them. That’s why he was pretty surprised when he saw Lex crying on his couch at 1am.

He was coming up from his lab with a glass of whisky, and he planned on watching the news (now the news was just an image of another city burning to the ground, but he needed to know) but instead he found a sobbing 19 year old. 

Henry considered just going back downstairs, but she had already seen him by the time he had made up his mind. 

She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her jacket and stood up, clearly trying to act like she wasn’t just crying, even though tears were still falling down her face. “If you need your living room you can have it back, I was just taking a break from my sister.” 

Henry backed away, “you need it more than I do.” Wait that probably wasn’t the right thing to say. 

Lex shook her head, probably thinking something like ‘great this is the guy I’m going to share a house with until I die in the nuclear apocalypse.’ Or maybe not, Henry didn’t really know what 19 year olds were like now. 

She used the neck of her shirt to wipe away another tear, “do you mind if I use your tissues?” 

He shrugged, “go ahead.” 

She grabbed the box that sat on an end table and blew her nose. “Thanks.” 

Henry nodded, that couch had seen a lot of his ugly crying too. “Do you need to talk or..” he trailed off. 

Lex shook her head, “no, I just didn’t want to wake up Hannah.” 

He nodded again, not sure what else to say. 

”Who are they?” Lex asked, pointing to a picture that was next to the box of tissues. 

That would be the reason he had tissues up here. “They were my friends in college.” 

”Were?” 

”They passed away.” 

”Oh, I’m sorry.” She looked down, “Ethan, that was my boyfriend’s name. He uh- he didn’t make it out of the mall.” 

Henry remembered Tom mentioning an Ethan, he said that he was one of his students too. ”I’m sorry.” 

She nodded, “we were going to run away from this town together, Hannah would be with us too. We were going to go to California, we just needed a little more money and we’d be set.” Lex laughed bitterly, “I was going to steal a Wiggly and sell it to some weird collector, look how well that plan worked out for us.” 

Henry wasn’t that good at talking about emotions with people, probably because he had isolated himself in a protected fortress and only came out to get groceries and teach, so instead he walked over and sat down in the old leather armchair that was next to the couch. 

”My friends all got sick at the same time. It was some mystery illness, I tried helping them, but in the end everything I did was futile.” Henry sipped his whiskey, “It doesn’t get easier, I’m sure Emma and Tom have told you that, but eventually you’ll be able to smile when you think of him.” 

”Have you gotten there yet?” Lex asked. 

Henry held up his whiskey, “sometimes there are things that help speed up the process.” 

Lex wiped her eyes, “thanks Professor. I don’t usually talk about this stuff, especially not with a stranger, but...” 

“Sometimes it’s easier with someone who understands.” 

She nodded, “yeah, that.” 

Henry sat in that armchair for a while after she left, he didn’t turn on the news though. Instead of watching burning cities he stared at an old picture, and allowed himself to go back to 5 o’clock on a Friday in the summer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Henry: *finds Lex crying about her dead boyfriend* hey, that’s the couch where I cry about my dead boyfriend(s) 
> 
> It’s been a while since I touched this fic, but there’s no better time to write than at 1:00 in the morning.


End file.
